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13 Days of Horror, Day 9: The Real Silent Hill
I’m sure there’s a mansion hidden deep within a forest that surrounds a city somewhere in the world, though I’m the probability of said mansion leading to an underground lab performing numerous illegal experiments that may or may not lead to a worldwide zombie apocalypse is significantly less likely. We already know the zombie apocalypse is drawing ever closer, it’s merely a matter of time (so stock up on your munitions while you still have a working brain people!)
The idea of there being a town somewhere in the world that shares a remarkable resemblance to the infamous town we’ve explored over numerous games seems a impossible. However, there is a nearly empty town nestled in the heart of Pennsylvania that’s been struggling to contain a fire that threatens to consume the entire town. I’d very much like to introduce you to the ghost town of Centralia. I wanted to take a break from lists and retrospectives to show you something that’s actually incredibly creepy, and made all the more so because this place actually exists. The 2006 film based on the Silent Hill games wasn’t great when it came to its plot or characters but it’s hard to argue the film didn’t nail the atmosphere of the games perfectly. And even though the creatures weren’t necessarily terrifying (with the exception of the insanely intimidating Pyramid Head who looked excellent in the film), a great deal of attention was invested into getting the personality of the games transitioned well into the film.
Honestly, I always wondered what it’d be like to be exploring the fog-shrouded town, instead of merely moving a character through its empty streets. Would it be cold? Would the fog be too thick to see my hands in front of my face? Would I hear the haunting melodies of Akira Yamaoka’s work playing softly from no recognizable source? Then one day before the film had come out I was reading about how they researched what the town would look like, and that’s when they mentioned its creation had been heavily inspired by the real-world ghost town of Centralia, Pennsylvania.
Fun fact: Silent Hill 4: The Room actually gives homage to Centralia as the town the game takes place in is called Ashfield and it borders Silent Hill. Centralia has a town that borders it named Ashland.
Immediately upon hearing the town’s name I set to researching it; how far away is it? Could I visit the town? Is it infested with monsters that would like nothing more than to rip me apart and feed my naught bits to their deformed offspring? Sadly, there are no monsters walking the broken streets of Centralia, but because of the fire burning under it the town has been cut off from the rest of the world, just like Silent Hill.
Part of me has always desperately wanted to take a road trip to Centralia, take some pics and perhaps make up some insanely ridiculous story about how I was chased away by Pyramid Head. The other more logical side recognizes the dangers of visiting such a place. The fires burning in its belly have been spreading for half a century (and may very well continue to expand until it consumes the nearby towns) which makes every step you take on its broken ground fragile. One wrong move and you fall into a burning pit of flames, and I hear that’s not a great way to go. Then there’s also the poisonous air, so unless you have a gas mask, or preferably one of those kickass miner suits from the film, that’s another intelligent reason not to go.
Just like the town it inspired (at least in the film), Centralia has been slowly consumed by fire, dropping its residents from over a thousand people in 1981 to a brave seven souls that remain today. A neat effect caused by the fire has formed vents of steam that shoot extremely hot plumes of smoke into the air, which in turn look somewhat like fog.
So, did you find all of this Centralia chat insanely boring or did you stop reading long ago so you could start planning your tip to the Real SIlent Hill?
In case you missed the rest of the series, here’s a quick recap:
Day 1, A Resident Evil Retrospective
Day 2, A Silent Hill Retrospective
Day 3, What Do You Fear?
Day 4, The Four Scariest Kids in Gaming
Day 5, A Look Through the Lense
Day 6, Six New Games You Need to Play this Halloween
Day 7, The 7 Biggest Horror Games of 2011
Day 8, Alone in the Tower
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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